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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27155569">It's Okay To Be Scared, Nobody Is That Figured Out</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nixie_DeAngel/pseuds/Nixie_DeAngel'>Nixie_DeAngel</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Domestic, Domestic Bliss, Domestic Fluff, Dudley cut his parents out of his life, Dudley talks about his childhood, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Good Dudley Dursley, Happy, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kid Fic, Post-Canon, Redeemed Dudley Dursley, and it's for the best, happy couple, soft</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 23:16:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,569</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27155569</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nixie_DeAngel/pseuds/Nixie_DeAngel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Why would Harry Potter, her sort of ex from school, be sending an invitation to his wedding, to Dudley? A muggle? Lips curving down, she thinks it over. She knows Harry grew up outside of the wizarding world. </p><p> </p><p>Or, Cho finds out Dudley's got another connection to the Wizarding World besides her and their son.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Cho Chang/Dudley Dursley</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>112</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Fic In A Box</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>It's Okay To Be Scared, Nobody Is That Figured Out</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ahatmadeofcheese/gifts">Ahatmadeofcheese</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I hope you enjoyed this!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Sweetheart?” Cho calls out as she kicks the door close behind her, sorting through the post. She drops her bag and keys onto the table, along with bills and junk mail. Only for her to pause when she comes across a letter that was obviously <em>not </em>from the muggle world. She blinks slowly as she stares, before thumbing the identical letter right behind it in her hand. </p><p>An invitation… to Harry Potter’s wedding. </p><p>She blinks, once, twice, in shock as she stares down at the invitation to one Dudley Dursley. Flipping to the second one, she sees it addressed to her, with a plus one. Taking a quick breath, she furrows her brow in confusion. </p><p>Why would Harry Potter, her sort of ex from school, be sending an invitation to his wedding, to Dudley? A muggle? Lips curving down, she thinks it over. She knows Harry grew up outside of the wizarding world. </p><p>Did they go to school together? Grew up near one another? Were they childhood friends? </p><p>“Dudley?” she calls out, louder this time. And waits a beat, but still no answer. Tilting her head, she tries to listen out, to try and hear either sounds of her husband or their rather rambunctious one-year-old. But only silence rings out through the house. “Sweetheart?”</p><p>Dropping the post along with the rest of it, Cho decides first to check the kitchen, then the garden, and finds both empty. She debates about calling his mobile, in case he and Sebastian went down to the park, when she pauses in the doorway to the living room. </p><p>Dudley was stretched out along their couch, his long legs hanging off one end, and the other being used as a cushion for his head. Sleeping, curled up on his chest, was Sebastian. His little hand curled up in his dad’s jumper. While one of Dudley’s hands was splayed along his back, to secure their son to him, and the other was gently rubbing along the back of his head, in a rhythm meant to soothe.</p><p>She leaned against the frame, and smiled softly, lovingly, at her two favorite people in the entire world, be it muggle or wizarding. She wonders how she got so lucky, to be blessed by Merlin, to get this, to get to have this. </p><p>After a while, she pushed up, padded over quietly, and gently ran her fingers along the curve of her husband’s face, murmuring softly in an attempt to wake him from his nap, without waking Seb as well. “Hey, darling.”</p><p>She watches as Dudley shifts, hand tightening against Seb’s back, as his eyes flutter open slowly. Grinning, she bites back the urge to giggle, as it takes him a few moments to seem to wake up, and notice her standing there. </p><p>“Hey,” he rumbles, sleep raspy and low, smiling softly up at her. He never stops sliding his fingers gently over Seb’s head. “When’d you get back from your mum’s?”</p><p>“Just now,” she answers quietly as she moves to kneel next to the couch. “She sends her love, and demands you and Seb attend our next luncheon,” she adds, breaking out into a giggle at this look of faked horror. She knew he was only jesting, considering how often Dudley and her own mother ended up talking and seeing each other every other week. </p><p>She was certain Dudley saw more of her mum than she did. Not that it was surprising, of course, considering he stayed up with Sebastian, while she worked at the Ministry. </p><p>“Goober,” she teased, leaning forward to give him a soft kiss. “Hi,” she whispers as she draws back, lips brushing his. </p><p>“Hi back.” He smiles, big and fond and full of love.</p><p>“Come on,” she says, standing up and carefully picking Sebastian up, so as to not wake him up. “I’ll go put him down for the rest of his nap.”</p><p>“I’ll get the kettle on,” Dudley answers, stretching out, wincing at the pops. “In a moment,” he amends.</p><p>“That’s what you get for napping on the couch.”</p><p>“Wasn’t planning on it, luv. Honest, we only sat here to read his picture book, then I planned on doing a slow walk around, to rock him to sleep. Guess I didn’t realize how tired I was though,” he defends.</p><p>Cho only laughs, softly, in response. Carefully, she makes her way upstairs to settle her son in his nursery. Stays standing next to his crib, gently running her fingertips along the curve of his face, much like she did with Dudley. After another moment, she slips back out of the room and downstairs, making a detour to grab the letters, then heads to the kitchen to settle at the table. </p><p>“Dudley?” she calls after settling comfortably in her chair. </p><p>“Yeah, sweetheart?”</p><p>“How do you know Harry Potter?” </p><p>She’s expecting a few things when she asks. Him to laugh, to ask who that is, before he recalls a childhood friend but had lost touch after he went off to some boarding school up North. </p><p>What she isn’t expecting is to see Dudley freeze, to go pale and slow turn to look at her, staring, gaze hard and cautious.</p><p>“Why?” He keeps his voice low and even, giving nothing away.</p><p>Though Cho thinks that in itself, was a giveaway really. Dudley was <em>never</em> quiet, never keeping things to himself. He’d been <em>nothing</em> but transparent since they met, since they got together. Since they found out about Sebastian. </p><p>Since they got married.</p><p>Nothing. He was always willing to share with her. Wanting to talk about any and all problems that arose, so they didn’t fester and twist them into something ugly.</p><p>So they didn’t turn out like his parents.</p><p>“You got a letter,” she tapes the two identical invitations. “To attend his wedding.”</p><p>He swallows, moving, staggering really, over to drop into the chair next to her. She watches, not saying anything as he brings his hands up to scrub at his face. </p><p>They sit in silence for a while, only the kettle finally blowing, prompts them into moving. Jumping up, Dudley moves to turn it off and pour the cuppa’s he’d prepared while she’d taken Seb upstairs. </p><p>“He’s my cousin,” he finally says. Hands placed on the counter and head bowed down, as if ashamed. “My parents,” he adds, but trails off for a moment, as if trying to figure out his next words. “My parents hated him. Hated him because he was <em>different, </em>because he was <em>abnormal</em> and <em>strange</em> and my aunt’s son.” He pauses, turns, and locks gazes with her before he continues on. </p><p>“They taught me to hate him too. To treat him like he was <em>beneath</em> them, beneath <em>me</em>. And I did. I treated him like right shite, for 17 years.” He swallows, flicks his eyes away, but makes himself look back at her almost immediately. “It wasn’t. It wasn’t until the summer before, before the battle, the one you mentioned?” He pauses, waits for her to nod before he continues on. “It wasn’t until then that I… that I actually started to think for myself. To see it was <em>wrong</em> to treat him like we did. Like they did. Like they’d taught me to do so.”</p><p>“Dudley,” Cho starts, trailing off when he holds his hand up.</p><p>“I know, I know <em>now</em> that it wasn’t right, it was abuse really.” He shifts to walk back over and retake his seat. “Took me a while to figure it all out. To work through it.” He lays his hands on the table, palms up. “But I chose not to talk about him, because, because I dunno, Cho, it was. It didn’t seem right to be like, yeah, that’s my cousin. ‘Cause what if he doesn’t want me claiming that? I wouldn’t, that’s sure as the sky is blue.”</p><p>“Dudley,” she speaks up, cutting in. “You were a child, raised in an environment that taught you from a young age to hate. That wasn’t your fault, luv.” She moves, placing her hands over his, lacing their fingers together. “You recognize it was wrong, what it was. That’s good. That’s better, that’s more progress, than some of the clients Marietta tells me about.”</p><p>“Still,” Dudley argues. “Still, Cho. I was right horrible to him.” </p><p>“And you learned from it. You learned to see the world for <em>yourself</em>. Learned to treat people like they <em>deserved</em> to be treated, Dudley. That’s good, that’s great.” Leaning over, she pulls him into a kiss, slow and soft. “So that’s why you don’t talk about him.”</p><p>She watches as he flushes a little, ducks his head down. “You mentioned him being a hero and all, once early on. Figured, it was best not to talk about my connection. I’m sorry, luv, I am. You know I hate keeping things from you. I do. I just. I wasn’t sure really, what the etiquette it was, when you were a horrible git to the savior of the wizarding world.”</p><p>“It’s, it’s understandable,” she answers, finally. “But I think he might be willing to try and mend fences, Dudley.” She untangles one hand to tap the letters. “Considering he sent you an invitation to his wedding, and all.”</p><p>He chuckles wetly, “Yeah. Maybe.”</p><p>“But it’s weeks off,” she continues on, “We don’t have to decide if we’re going or not right now. Let’s just enjoy today together. Okay?”</p><p>“Yeah, yeah, that sounds lovely, Cho.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm Nixie! You can find me where I post the things I <a href="https://nixies-creations.tumblr.com/">create</a>, or at my main blog <a href="http://nixie-deangel.tumblr.com/">here</a>!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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